Tips for you - lessons from my first 1k users for a free exercise tracker app ProgressPix
Hi Indiehackers, I built a free app ProgressPix for users to create fitness progress pictures easily with complementary features like workout mode, custom workouts, exercise logs etc.
Along the way I learned so much about building a small but usable product and would like to share some quick summary points in the hope that it would help you on your own journey. Some are specific to app building whilst others are generic so I hope you'll find some nuggets of wisdom in them!
Lesson #1 - Aim small
If you are a solo developer try and build a small surface area of core features which will solve a problem or add value to someone. If you can't convince someone to use your app those few core features it's very unlikely that adding the next 5 or 10 small features will suddenly make it so much better. This will save you time by forcing you to focus on defining your value proposition which you would waste otherwise just spreading yourself too thinly.
Mistake: I built many features I believed users would like that took weeks and weeks even though they didn't really add much value to the original set of users I was targeting, diluting the essence of what I was trying to do.
Lesson #2 - Use analytics early on
A simple and sane way to approach improving your app is to look at what your users are doing through analytics and figure out a way to do that even better or improve the app in a complementary way. Speaking to users works well but instrumenting appropriately using things like Google Analytics or Firebase Analytics (same really) can be a quick way to get some data in the background. This can be especially useful if you don't know where to go next so let the data guide you!
Mistake: I found out that features I expected to be popular really went unused, whereas boring utility functions were actually the reason my users were coming back frequently which led me on to grow my app in a different direction.
Lesson #3 - Embrace marketing
For more developers marketing is one of our least favourite activities and we'd love it if users flooded us as soon as our stuff hit the app stores. Yet this is the reality of indie product development - you have to find a way to stand out somehow. Shift your mentality from being just an engineer and developer to someone who wants to build a well loved product and marketing just becomes one of the things on the checklist.
Mistake: I ignored marketing for as long as I could and kept my head down to build continously but then realised that nobody was even able to find what I made.
Here are some of the initial tidbits I had but I would love to share more so let me know if you'd like to hear more :)
In case you'd like to check the app out please find the following links:
iOS - https://apps.apple.com/sg/app/progresspix-exercise-tracker/id6478948777?platform=iphone
Android - https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.rawfishdev.progresspix
Website - https://progresspix.io/
